Berlin, October 1, 2020 – With 18,515 apartments sold in 2019, Berlin remains the leader in sales on the German housing market. Munich (10,373) and Hamburg (6,341) trail Berlin by a significant margin, ranking second and third, respectively. This is shown by this year’s ACCENTRO Homeownership Report, which analyzes data from appraisal committees in 82 major German cities. However, sales figures in the capital fell for the fourth consecutive year (-1.96 percent) compared to 2018. Among the top seven cities, only Hamburg (-2.25 percent) saw a sharper decline in the number of apartments sold than Berlin. Over a ten-year period, however, the number of apartments sold rose sharply by 29.67 percent.
Berlin Sold More Newly Built Apartments Than Hamburg and Munich Combined
With a total of 4,608 apartments sold, Berlin sold 189 more newly built apartments than Hamburg and Munich combined. After the number of newly built apartments sold had declined by 21.24 percent in 2018, a slight increase was observed again in 2019 (+2.45 percent). Across Germany, a total of 27,164 newly built apartments were sold, which is 4.4 percent more than in 2018. “Fundamentally, it is important for major cities to maintain a high level of new construction. The report’s findings show that new construction in Berlin has still not returned to 2017 levels,” says Lars Schriewer, Chairman of ACCENTRO Real Estate AG, commenting on the analysis. “It is noteworthy, however, that although most apartments were sold in Berlin, the homeownership rate in the capital—at 17.4 percent—still lags significantly behind that of the other federal states,” Schriewer adds.
One-fifth of total sales in Berlin
With 6.25 billion euros in sales, the federal capital remains in first place among cities with the highest sales. Munich (5.55 billion euros), in second place, was able to cut the gap with the capital in half. In 2018, the gap to Berlin was still 1.31 billion euros. Compared to 2018, sales in Berlin rose by 2.92 percent; over a ten-year period, they increased by as much as 242.15 percent. “The relatively high prices in the capital are an indication of the positive future expectations placed on the German capital,” says Prof. Dr. Michael Voigtländer, head of the Financial and Real Estate Markets division at the IW. “Added to this is the economic upswing that Berlin has experienced in recent years,” Voigtländer adds.
About the ACCENTRO Homeownership Report
ACCENTRO Real Estate AG is publishing the Homeownership Report for the thirteenth time. This year, the Homeownership Report was produced for the first time in cooperation with the German Economic Institute. The analysis is based on homeownership transactions from the 2019 reporting year in all 82 major German cities. By drawing on data from appraisal committees, the report differs significantly from similar publications, which are usually based on expert estimates or the analysis of listing data. The report consists of two distinct sections. While the first section compares housing markets using various criteria, the second section provides detailed market data for all 82 cities. Detailed results from the ACCENTRO Homeownership Report on Germany’s ten most populous cities and developments over the past twelve years are also available online in the ACCENTRO database and can be selected individually: Homeownership Report
About ACCENTRO Real Estate AG
ACCENTRO Real Estate AG is a residential real estate investor and the market leader in housing privatization in Germany. As of December 31, 2020, its real estate portfolio comprised approximately 5,200 units. In addition to Berlin, its regional focus includes major East German cities and metropolitan areas, as well as the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region and Bavaria. ACCENTRO’s business activities encompass four core areas. These include the tenant-oriented sale of apartments to owner-occupiers and private investors, the sale of real estate portfolios to institutional investors, the development and management of its own real estate portfolio, and the marketing of apartments for portfolio holders, investors, and project developers. The shares of ACCENTRO Real Estate AG are listed on the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (WKN: A0KFKB, ISIN: DE000A0KFKB3). investors.accentro.de
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